DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTERThirty years of Teaching, Learning, Caring for marine mammals and the environment we share.DRC is a nonprofit marine mammal education and research facility located in the heart of the fabulous Florida Keys. Home to a family of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions, DRC offers a variety of educational, fun, exciting programs, and close-up interactions. We hope you enjoy our blog!

Friday, May 31, 2013

We're so happy to celebrate Karen's 26th birthday with her. Originally brought to DRC to retire, Karen has proven time and again how much she loves affection. She is the star of our sea lion programs and loves to interact with guests. When she's not being cuddly, you can often find Karen sunbathing on one of her docks, or swimming around her habitat.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

In 1988, a special little guy was born into the DRC family. Today, A.J. celebrates the big 2-5! Surrounded by his dolphin friends and human family, A.J. lives every day like it's his birthday. He's full of joy, energy, and silly antics.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Did you know that Dolphin Research Center is the licensed manatee rescue team for the Florida Keys?

The DRC crew, along with the FWC and Miami Seaqurium, help rescue an injured manatee.

Many manatees end up in a life-threatening situation. Some become entangled in discarded fishing line or synthetic boat rope. Others may be hit by boats and severely injured by propellers slicing into their bodies. The very survival of these endangered animals is at stake. We believe there are only around 3,300 manatees left.

How You Can Help

When ocean temperatures drop, more manatees make their way to the warmer water in the Keys. Now, as much as ever, manatees need your assistance. If you see a manatee with an entanglement or injury, call 1-888-404-FWCC. Your call will be answered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC). This is the first step in launching a trained, authorized response to aid the animal. Nobody else can put the process into action. You must contact the FWCC.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

A lot of pelicans have recently visited Dolphin Research Center. They love to land right in the middle of a session and be a part of the action. Not only is it entertaining for us, but it seems the dolphins are interested in the birds too.

During a Dolphin Dip, a pelican decided to get wet with a dolphin alongside some guests. It stayed in the lagoon as the participants got their handshakes, kisses, and imitations, and had all sorts of dolphin fun. However, when it was time for the signal session, Pandora decided to have a little fun of her own.

The guests asked Pandora to do her shark impression. Generally, she then swishes her peduncle from side to side as she pretends to swim like a fish in any direction she chooses. That day she wanted to make sure the pelican felt just as special as her human friends.

As she sashayed her tail back and forth, she made her way towards the bird. The pelican slowly maneuvered its way out of Pandora’s reach but she kept going for him. As she got closer, the bird hopped away from Calusa to another part of the lagoon. Still in shark mode, Pandora continued after the pelican.

After messing with the bird for a minute, Pandora came back to join the rest of the party at the dock. Luckily for the pelican, Pandora is one of the cutest, non-scary, sharks we’ve ever seen.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Each of the dolphins here has their own dolphinality. Some are laid back, while others love to tease us. When it comes to spunk, however, Cayo is a dolphin that cannot be mistaken for any other. During a recent Dolphin Encounter, Miss Cayo showed yet again while DRC always says we run on dolphin time. If she didn’t want to do a behavior she didn’t.

Normally an uninterested dolphin swims away from the dock to explore. Sometimes they’ll visit with their friends at another station or they’ll check out something in their lagoon. Cayo, on the other hand, made it clear she wanted to do something other than what we asked.

Regardless of what high energy behavior she was asked to do, Cayo politely said “talk to the tail flukes” by turning upside down and doing a dolphin head stand in the water, and waving her tail in the air. Each time she did it, her in water guests laughed. They loved the animation behind Cayo’s distinct disposition.

Cayo’s lack of interest in several other behaviors didn’t cause any issues with the guests. It turns out that at that session, she was far more interested in backrubs and flipper shakes than in aerial behaviors. She even let the trainer give her a tail fluke massage at the dock. Leave it to Cayo to let you know exactly what she wants!